GRAND FORKS, N.D. - University of North Dakota first-year head women's swimming and diving coach Chris Maiello has announced the schedule for the 2013-14 season.

UND will host a total of five total meets this season at the Hyslop pool, including the annual Green/White intrasquad meet to kick things off on Oct. 4. Eight days later, UND welcomes former North Central Conference foe South Dakota State for a home-and-home series. UND makes the trek to Brookings, S.D. to end the dual-meet season on Feb. 1.

"We take these regional rivalries very seriously," Maiello said. "We want to put our best foot forward for our fans to win those home meets."

North Dakota also battles another former NCC rival, South Dakota, on Oct. 18 in the first of two meets with the Coyotes. USD will also be the opponent in the final home meet on Jan. 25.

November sees UND travel to Northern Iowa and the University of Kansas for duals followed by multiple-school meets at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Northwestern. The divers make the trip back to the University of Missouri for a three-day meet from Dec. 5-7 while the swimmers head to the U.S. Winter National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. during that same timeframe.

The new calendar year brings Grand Canyon to Hyslop Pool on Jan. 10-11 with road tests at Air Force, SDSU and Minnesota serving as the final tuneups prior to the league championships. The Western Athletic Conference meet begins Feb. 26 and extends through Mar. 1. San Antonio, Texas will again serve as host for the meet in the third year of UND's affiliation with the conference on the women's side. The men will also compete in the WAC this season as the conference has reinstated sponsoring men’s swimming and diving.

"Our main goal is to improve," said Maiello. "We want to improve our conference standing and win-loss record, improve everyday in practice and get faster. And with the success last year, we're looking for our divers to be key contributors to our program. Diving coach Brian Strom does such a great job and we're counting on the divers to continue that success and to take it to the next level so we can have a top-notch diving program in the conference."

North Dakota looks to qualify swimmers for the NCAA Championships in its second year of eligibility at the Division I level. The NCAA Zone Diving meet is held Mar. 14-16 in Minneapolis, Minn. and the NCAA Swimming Championships will be held at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. on the campus of IUPUI, Mar. 20-22.